A group of police officers on February 3, 2022, brutally assaulted Eric Nana Gyetuah, a radio presenter with Connect FM based in Takoradi, capital of the Western Region of Ghana, leaving him with a damaged eardrum.

The victim, who is also the producer of Connect FM’s morning show, had gone to eat lunch at a local restaurant at Pipe Ano, a suburb of Takoradi when a group of armed men in plainclothes came in together with some suspects in handcuffs. The scene frightened some of the people in the restaurants with a few leaving in panic. The suspects who managed to eat while still in handcuffs went out ahead of the escorting security officers.

Intrigued by what had attracted a lot of curious eyes, Nana Gyetuah started filming the suspects from a discreet distance and location at the car park. He was in the process of filming when one of the security officers accosted him and asked him to surrender his phone.

“I refused his request because I did not know what he wanted to do with the phone. Then he started assaulting me before calling his colleagues to join in the assault,” Gyetua narrated to the MFWA.

The victim eventually surrendered the phone after enduring a blitz of kicks, slaps, and smashes with the butt of the gun. The police then threw their bleeding victim into the bucket of one of their pick-up vehicles and drove him away to the Police station.

The assault left Gyetua with a bloated face and tattered clothes with some discharges dripping from his ears.

The police accused Gyetua of unlawfully taking pictures of the suspects and pressed public order charges against him. He was detained for four hours before being released on bail after the intervention of the Management of Connect FM.

The presenter received treatment at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Takoradi with a medical form issued by the police. Doctors at the regional hospital referred him for specialist treatment at a medical facility in Accra. Gyetua told the MFWA doctors fear he could lose the use of his right ear as the eardrum has been affected.

Meanwhile, the radio presenter says from the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Akuffo Dampare has called to sympathise with him and assure him of a thorough investigation into the matter. Following this, The Director-General of the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB), ACP Ms Lydia Yaako Donkor, got in touch with the journalist and directed him to the PPSB of Western Regional Police. He was invited to write a statement on February 12, but decided, upon his lawyer’s advice, to pick the form and return the completed form later.

 This is the second time in three months that a presenter at Connect FM has had trouble with the police. On November 1, the host of the station’s morning show, Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson was detained on charges of causing fear and alarm. This was after a listener called into the morning show and made a claim (which was later found to be false) that his girlfriend had been kidnapped.

The Media Foundation for West Africa condemns the brutal police assault on Nana Jetuah and urges the IGP to ensure that his promise to get the matter investigated is fulfilled with justice done. We are appalled at this umpteenth police abuse of a journalist for filming their activities. Unless they obstruct police operations, journalists and citizens break no law in filming police operations carried out in public. The police authorities must therefore call their officers to order in that regard.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) roundly condemns the attack on the Radio Ada (93.3 FM), a community radio station in the Greater Accra region of Ghana and demands immediate investigations and prosecution of perpetrators.

A group of thugs numbering about 12 on January 13, 2022, stormed the premises of the community radio station, assaulted two of its journalists and vandalised equipment.

A journalist at Radio Ada who is also the External Communications Officer of the media house, Julius Odoi, told the MFWA that the hoodlums invaded the station at around 11:45 am (GMT) after a drinking binge at a nearby drinking bar. They demanded to see the Manager and when told by the security guards that he was not available, the intruders forcibly entered the building. They broke the studio door and caused mayhem. According to Odoi, the thugs ordered Gabriel Korley Adjaotor, who was presenting a music programme, to stop his presentation.

“Before the presenter could react, they disconnected cables, smashed computers and attacked the console and microphones, disrupting the broadcast in the process,” Odoi told the MFWA in a telephone conversation.

After upsetting the studio, the thugs assaulted the presenter amidst warnings to the station to stop its Manor Munyu programme, a regular feature that discusses the state of the salt mining industry, the mainstay of the Ada economy.

The invaders who had come carrying bottles of alcohol, also forced another journalist, Gideon Amanor Dzeagu, to kneel for several minutes while they proceeded to turn the whole premises into a mess by breaking their bottles and littering the place with alcohol and shards.

The thugs assaulted journalists at the radio station and vandalised equipment at the studio.

The Ada Songhor programme is highly critical of the operations of Electrochem, the firm accorded the rights to mine salt in the Songhor Lagoon. Electrochem has in the past had to write to the Management of the radio station to complain about alleged misrepresentations about its operations and demand an apology. There is, however, no indication that the attackers are linked to the salt mining firm.

Meanwhile, the presenter, Gabriel Korley Adjaotor, is said to be responding to treatment, having been rushed to the District Hospital for attention.

The Ada District Police Commander, DSP Andreas Mifetu, confirmed to the MFWA in a telephone chat that his outfit issued a medical form to the presenter after the station reported the assault.

The Police chief also confirmed that a team of officers have been dispatched to the premises of Radio Ada to verify the incident, as part of investigations.

The management of the radio station, in a statement, has announced that the station will shut down for a few days to enable it to review and repair the extent of the damage caused.

Radio Ada has a reputation for critical reports which hold the powerful to account. On August 2, 2018, the police stormed the station in search of one of its radio presenters, Joseph Korletey Korley, popularly known as DJ Koxterio. The journalist had angered the chiefs of the traditional area by demanding that they account for the funds raised at the annual cultural festival, Asafotufiami.

The MFWA vigorously condemns this shameful attack on Radio Ada and its staff by the cowardly hoodlums. It is a vicious attack that seeks to silence the media house and instil fear in journalists. We are confident that the station and its staff will continue to stand firm in service to the public and demand that the authorities take measures to provide them with the needed protection. We urge the police to conduct thorough investigations into the incident and bring the perpetrators to book.